Love Me Like You Do
by CUtopia
Summary: A collection of five drabbles about Katie and Marcus. Established Relationship.
1. Dreaming And Counting Stars

This collection is for the final round of the _Last Ship Sailing Competition_. Five prompts – five chapters!

 **Prompt:** (action) Counting Stars

Entry for the _Gringotts Prompt Bank_

(380 Words)

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 **Dreaming And Counting Stars**

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 _I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream._

Vincent van Gogh

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Katie snuggled impossibly closer to Marcus, who adjusted the thick wool blanket which they'd wrapped around them to protect themselves from the cold. Above them, the universe was unfolding itself and gave a brief glimpse into its infinity and beauty. Stars were twinkling brightly from the darkness, and they could even see faint traces of galaxies.

Katie was unable to tear her eyes away from the magnificent sight, engulfed by Marcus' warmth. She was staring up in wonder, trying to count the little sparkling dots, and wishing she had the time to be aware of every single one of them.

However, Marcus only had eyes for the woman cuddled into his arms. He was glad that she'd agreed on leaving their hotel room to sneak into the stadium. Sitting closely together, they had a front row seat to watch the universe, and the sight of Katie admiring the wonder made him dream. He could see vivid images in front of him, imaginations of a wonderful future with Katie, the woman he loved more than anything else in his life.

The images slowly passed by; hours spent together doing nothing but holding each other, starting a family together, watching the cute baby turn into an adult slowly, growing old together and leaving the world together, holding each other in an embrace like they did right now. He wanted to have all of that with her, and he was so glad to hold her in his arms in this moment – he didn't want to imagine being without her.

Katie seemed to sense that he was pondering something and tore her gaze away from the stars to look at him, her eyes gleaming. Her gaze was questioning, and he smiled at her before kissing her softly until her cold lips felt warm again. There was still enough time to tell her about his dreams; right now, he just wanted to hold her and savour the moment.

Tomorrow, the stands of the giant stadium would be filled with thousands of spectators, but right now, it was peaceful enough for them to be counting stars.


	2. If You Like Pina Coladas

**Prompt:** (action) dancing in the rain

Entry for the _Gringotts Prompt Bank_

(600 Words)

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 **If You Like Pina Coladas And Getting Caught In The Rain...**

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 _Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet._

Bob Marley

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Marcus sometimes didn't know what he'd done to deserve a woman like Katie Bell. She was filling his life with an amount of joy that had been unknown to him for most of his life and she was making him a better man without changing him completely. When she smiled and hugged him, it was easy to forget the mean Slytherin bully he'd once had been. It showed him that everything could be forgiven if you were willing to change yourself, and maybe Katie was his reward for leaving the past behind and trying to undo the mistakes of his teenage years. If they were fighting, she never brought up his ugly past, and they were able to make up fast, overcoming their stubbornness for each other.

She was also giving him challenges, teasing him when he didn't score as many goals as she did during a game or training session.

In his opinion, Katie was sometimes too good to be true, and somehow she always seemed to sense when he doubted that he was worthy of her love. Whenever that happened, she would drag him somewhere they loved to go or do something so crazy that he had no other choice but to join in.

And now, as they were sitting on the veranda of their holiday home in the Caribbean, drinking tea while thick, dark clouds were hanging over the ocean and it was raining heavily, she was sensing it once again.

Without hesitating, Katie stood up, pressed a kiss onto his cheek and then walked straight onto the damp sand, turning her head to look over her shoulder cheekily from time to time. Marcus' eyes followed her, and the corners of his mouth twitched as Katie jumped into the air, stretching her arms towards the sky before spinning around on her heel, gesturing for him to join her.

He chuckled, shaking his head while the rain started to dampen Katie's hair and soak through the fabric of her summer dress. A laugh brightened her face, and it was so joyful that Marcus was convinced that it could chase the clouds away. Katie turned around on the spot a few times before she started to dance to the pattern of the rain hitting the wooden roof of their house and the big leaves of the palm tree nearby.

"Come on!" Katie exclaimed, smirking at him, and Marcus sighed, acting reluctant as he stood up. Burying his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he walked towards the edge of the veranda, where the roof ended.

"Don't be a sissy, Marcus!"

Marcus snorted before stepping out from under the protection of the roof. The raindrops pattered onto his skin, and he was surprised how warm they felt. He slowly walked towards her, grinning sheepishly as he watched her turn and dance around funnily, not really sure if he wanted to join in. Of course, nobody could see what they were doing, but he still felt like it was ridiculous – but like always, her smile was too convincing.

Before he knew it, Katie's arms slung around Marcus, and they started to sway together, letting the rain soak them through. Katie's laugh and her gleaming eyes as she looked up to him were enough to wipe his earlier doubts away. He kissed her, and she tasted of rain, tropical fruits and joy, and he knew that he would never have enough of that.


	3. Nerves

Prompt: (action) Hiding in a broom closet

(800 Words)

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 **Nerves**

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 _If you're not nervous it means you don't care._

Tiger Woods

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There were quite a few things that Marcus sometimes did that Katie couldn't help but hate, but the one she probably despised most – and he did most often – was that he forgot to inform her about important events that he'd planned for them. He'd been raised in the classic, old-fashioned way that was typical for pureblood families – the man was the one who made the decisions, and the woman had to obey. This led to situations in which he forgot that Katie had an opinion, too, and that she wanted to be involved into the process, and he'd drawn her wrath towards him more than once because of that.

But the worst thing about that was probably that he could be so horribly casual about it when announcing the things that he'd spontaneously decided. Every single time, he seemed to have forgotten about her utter dislike of his behaviour and informed her of events that would bring chaos into her whole schedule while walking by.

And so he did it once again, right before their team, the Wigtown Wanderers, were stepping onto the pitch of their home stadium to play the qualifying round for the European Quidditch League.

"My parents are here today, and they want to get to know you! I booked us a table," Marcus said close to her ear over the muffled roars of the crowd above them. Her broom nearly fell from her hand and she turned her head to look at him in shock, but before she was able to say anything, the doors to the pitch opened.

His words were still ringing in her ears and raced through her mind as she circled the stadium, nearly flying into other players once or twice – and that was before the game had even started. Her heart was racing, and for the first time, it wasn't because she was excited and a little bit anxious about the important game.

The thought of meeting Marcus' parents so suddenly was startling her, especially as she didn't know what to expect. How much of the pureblood ideology did his parents live? She was a halfblood, and she knew that some even thought that to be a shame. Would they like her? Would she be able to like them?

Katie barely registered anything of the game; her body was working automatically while her thoughts were far away. It was a true miracle that she wasn't hit by a single bludger, even though she wasn't paying attention, and only as the game ended was she aware of how much she'd screwed up today.

The Wanderers had won, by only a slight margin, and it was her fault. Embarrassed and upset, she stormed off the pitch, away from her celebrating teammates, ignoring how Marcus shouted after her. Her feet carried her through the catacombs of the stadium, and then she dove into the next broom closet she could find. Hiding there for the rest of her life suddenly sounded like the right thing to do, and as she slammed the door shut, she felt a lot better.

Running a hand over her face, she shook her head about what she'd done, but also in anger about Marcus. Why had he done that? This was an utter disaster! Now his parents would definitely think badly of her; her performance had been horrible... All she wanted now was to disappear and never be found again.

A soft knock on the door ripped her from her thoughts, and she asked herself how he'd found her as she heard Marcus' voice. "Katie? Katie, love, please, come out!"

"No, definitely not! I made a fool of myself, and that's your fault! Because you didn't bother to ask me if I was ready to meet your parents! You're a fucking idiot, Marcus Flint!" Katie exclaimed, her voice at least one octave higher than usual.

For a moment, it was quiet on the other side of the door, then, Marcus answered sheepishly: "I am an idiot... I... damn, I'm so sorry, Katie... honey, please, come out so I can give you a proper apology."

She hesitated; she was still angry with him, and she definitely felt like it needed a bigger apology, but if she stayed inside the broom closet, he wouldn't be able to start. Cursing reason, she opened the door and allowed Marcus to pull her into an embrace, hating how comforting it was for her to be close to him. Katie wanted to be angry with him because he'd upset her, but her anger was slowly fading as Marcus held on to her, pressing kisses onto her hair.


	4. Two Minutes

**Prompt:** (action) pacing nervously

Entry for the _Gringotts Prompt Bank_

Various Prompts: Charmed

(Action) Taking a pregnancy test

(570 Words)

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 **Two Minutes**

Marcus had sensed that something was wrong the minute he'd come home. If he were being honest, he'd known it before he'd unlocked the door – Katie had been acting weird, as if something unsettled her, and she'd spent an unnatural amount of time with her mother between training sessions. That alone wouldn't have alarmed him, but she'd also avoided him – as good as that worked when you were living and working together – and they'd barely talked for a week.

So, as he opened the door to their apartment and spotted the white package on the table, he realised what everything had been about. Katie just entered the living room, looking at him with a mixture of surprise and shock.

"I thought you wanted to go for a beer with the boys?" she asked after clearing her throat, her voice sounding shaky. Marcus walked closer to the table and grabbed the package, gulping hard as he realised that it was one of these pregnancy tests the muggles used.

"Have you... have you made it yet?"

His vision slightly blurred as he asked this; the thought that Katie might be pregnant was waking a mass of different feelings inside of him.

Katie shook her head, her face pale, and Marcus, seeing how she visibly trembled, hurried to cross the distance between them to pull her into his arms. She buried her face in his chest, taking a few deep breaths, and Marcus ran his fingers through her hair, mumbling soothing words. After some time, she lifted her head and looked him into the eyes, whispering: "I was too scared to take it. What if it's positive? I don't want to be a mother yet, I want to play Quidditch and see the world with you..."

A sigh escaped her lips and Marcus pressed a kiss onto her forehead, answering: "We're going to figure everything out. But we'll have to make this test first."

Katie nodded, closing her eyes for a moment to take a deep breath before she let go of Marcus and walked over to the table to grab the package. Marcus stayed in the living room while Katie prepared the test, and as she came out of the bathroom, he'd started to pace nervously over the length of the room. In his mind, a thousand questions and even more doubts were swirling, and he was barely able to catch a clear thought. He wasn't sure if he was ready to be a father – his own family hadn't been the best example, and he was afraid of being as distanced as his father had been to him.

Two minutes seemed to be an eternity to them, and being patient wasn't exactly easy. At some point, he stopped pacing and embraced Katie, feeling the need to show her that no matter what would happen, he was there for her. Neither of them dared to take a look after the time was up; their gazes were locked, and Marcus could see his own fears and doubts reflected in her eyes.

Eventually, Katie's eyes moved down to the test lying on the table, and suddenly, her face lightened. All the dreads seemed to be wiped away, and she laughed unburdened before kissing Marcus and pushing him backwards towards the couch while undressing him, whispering something about having to celebrate.


	5. Run To You

**Prompt:** (action) Losing a shoe

Entry for the _Greek Mythology Competition_

 **Hera:** Write about a wedding.

And that's the last drabbble of the collection! Thanks for reading and reviewing :)

(505 Words)

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 **Run To You**

Katie couldn't believe that this was happening.

As a young girl, while watching how her older cousin walked towards the altar, she'd dreamt of the day she would be the one wearing the white dress and holding the bridal bouquet, walking towards her true love.

Over the years, this perfect picture had been blurred a little bit, thanks to reality and her changed view on marriage. Still she would never have thought that should she really marry one day, she would be late.

Panic was rising inside of her, and her heart was beating hard and fast in her chest as she raced over the cornfield, past the wildflowers, her gaze fixed on the small chapel on the hill she was heading towards. Alicia and Angelina were panting right behind her, and Katie didn't care how sweaty she would be upon their arrival, or how ruined her beautiful updo would be. All she could think of in this very moment was to get there as fast as she could, knowing that Marcus was up there, waiting for her.

Her greatest fear in this moment was that Marcus would think that she'd had second thoughts about marrying him, and it caused her to run faster. Still it felt like she was barely getting forwards, that the church was barely closer, though her lungs were already burning, and in a desperate try to run even faster, she stumbled over her own feet. Gasping, she was fortunately able to prevent a fall, but her left shoe slipped from her foot and flew to the side, landing between the cornflowers.

Cursing, Katie kicked the other one away as well and continued to run, feeling the warm soil under the soles of her bare feet, and it seemed like it was easier to run now.

Everybody turned around and stared at her as she pushed the doors of the chapel open and walked inside, her breathing heavy and her hair a bit disheveled. She could see Marcus' mother scoff at her openly, and she felt like this gaze was a punch in the stomach, but as she met Marcus' eyes, everything was forgotten.

He looked at her with so much admiration and love, taking in the form fitting lace dress with a v-neck and a thin crystal ribbon around her waist, as well as her dirty feet, and his expression made her forget that she was sweaty and out of breath. Joy radiated from him, and Katie smiled as she walked down the short aisle with determination, their gazes locked, as if they were the only two persons in the chapel. It seemed as if all the effort of running to the chapel vanished as he gently took her hand.

"I'm glad you made it," Marcus smiled, barely able to tear his gaze away from her.

"I'm glad you waited for me."

"Always," he whispered, and together, their hands joined, they turned to the Ministry official that would conduct their wedding ceremony.


End file.
